Device for putting on and taking off upsilon-belts



.1. E. PRINCE June 30, 1964 DEVICE FOR PUTTING ON AND TAKING OFF V-BELTSFiled March 28, 1963 I llll'lllll/l/r t zzt 21:21:.

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INVENTOR. Jsepll 5 France flTTORN Y- United States Patent 3,138,963DEVICE FOR PUTTING ON AND TAKING OFF V-BELTS Joseph E. Prince, P.0. Box42, Lester, Wash. Filed Mar. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 268,713 4 Claims. (Cl.74-242) My invention relates to a tool or device for putting on andtaking oil V-belts, this sometimes being referred to as loading and'de-railing the belts.

Considerable difliculty is often experienced in putting V-belts on andtaking them ofi of grooved pulleys or sheaves on which they operate.These belts are usually under some tension and it is common practice touse screw drivers and other tools of similar nature to put the V- beltson and take them 0E of their pulleys by stretching these belts andcausing them to pass over the rims or flanges of the grooved pulleys onwhich they operate. This can injure the belts and also it can result ininjury to the hands of the person who is putting on or taking oi thebelt.

A primary object of my invention is to provide a tool or device ofsimple and inexpensive construction which can be used to quickly andeasily put a V-belt on or take it off of a grooved pulley on which itoperates without danger of injury to the hands of the person using thedevice and without danger of injury to the V-belt.

Another object is to provide a tool or device by which a V-belt, whichoperates under normal tension on two spaced apart grooved pulleys, canbe caused to pass over a side flange of one of said pulleys with aminimum amount of stretching of the belt, in putting the belt on ortaking it off of the pulley.

Another object is to provide a tool or device for putting on or takingoff a V-belt which, after it has been applied to the pulley and thebelt, does not need to be held by the'hands while the pulley and beltare being moved instretching the belt in causing it to pass over the rimof the pulley on which it operates.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device constructed in accordancewith my invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank or stamped out piece of metal fromwhich a frame part of the device shown in FIG. 1 is constructed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the frame part formed by bending theblank shown in FIG. 2 into a desired shape.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the completed device shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on broken line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a frame member of modified form whichcan be embodied in my device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a belt applicator device constructed inaccordance with my invention and which can be molded in one piece fromplastic or like material.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the use of my device inputting a V-belt onto a grooved pulley.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the use of my device in takinga V-belt off of a grooved pulley.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive, the device therein shown comprisesa frame indicated generally by F in FIGS. 2 and 3. This frame F canconveniently be formed from fairly thin sheet metal by a stamping andbending process. It comprises a flat bottom 10, two fairly long,

the forward end and the part shown at the right as the rear end.

The flanges 11 and 12 are fairly strong and stiff so that I they willnot easily be bent or sprung out of shape. Said flanges 11 and 12 are ofexpanding width toward their outer ends, that is, they are wider attheir outer ends than they are at the end portions thereof which connectwith the bottom 10. This provides each flange 11 and 12 with two edgeswhich are inclined convergently relative to each other from the outerends of the flanges toward the bottom 10. This incline of the two edgesof each flange increases their belt holding efliciency as respects aV-belt 20 as will be apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 8 and 9.

The rear end portions of the side walls 13 and 14, these being the endswhich are joined to the respective flanges 11 and 12, are much narrowerthan said flanges and the side walls 13 and 14 taper uniformly to anarrow width at the forward end of the frame F. The side walls 13 and 14lend stiffness to the bottom 10 so that said bottom and side walls donot flex or bend much when the device is in use.

The bottom 10 and at least a major portion of the side walls 13 and 14and the base portions of the flanges 11 and 12 are covered with andembedded in a shield 15 of tough rubber or plastic or like pliablematerial which has high frictioncharacteristics and will not slip orslide easily when the device is applied to a pulley- The shield 15 isshaped like a wedge, being thicker at the rear end .and taperinguniformly toa thin edge at its forward end. Said shield 15 extends asubstantial distance beyond the forward end of the bottom 10 and sidewalls 13 and 14 and forms a protruding pliable tongue 16a: the forwardend of said frame F. The length of the tongue 16 can be varied butpreferably it is about equal to the length of the frame F. Alsopreferably the thicker rear end portion of the shield 15 is secured tothe bottom 10 by a rivet 17 which extends through a hole 18 in saidbottom 10.

FIG. 6 discloses a modified form of frame member F composed of a bottompart 10 having near its rear end, two outwardly extending, spaced apart,divergent flanges 11 and 12. Said frame member F' is substantially thesame as the frame member F except that the side walls 13 and 14 areomitted. The frame F is adapted to be embedded in an elastic shield, notshown, but which is similar to the shield 15, 16 shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and5 and covers the bottom 10 and the base portions of the flanges 11' and12'. The frame F is made of material of the proper strength andresiliency so that the flanges 11 and 12' thereof are fairly rigid butthe bottom member 10 is capable of flexing and conforming to thecurvature of the usual sheave to which it will be applied.

FIG. 7 discloses a one piece embodiment of my invention comprising abody or base portion 20 of substantially the same external wedge shapeas the shield 15, 16 of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. The body portion 20 isprovided at;

its thicker rear end with two outwardly protruding,.

spaced apart, divergent, integral flanges 21 and 22, which:

are fairly rigid and are similar in shape and function to plied.Preferably the flanges 21 and 22 are more rigid than the body member 20.The devices shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are used in the same manner as thedevices shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 and the following description of themethod of using the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will apply also to thedevices of FIGS. 6 and 7.

The incline of the sides of my devices are made to conform substantiallyto the incline of the sides of a V-belt 23 and the slope of the sideflanges of a grooved pulley 25, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In the use ofthe device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 in putting a V-belt 23 on a groovedpulley 25 this device and the belt 23 are placed in the groove of thepulley 25 in a position as shown in FIG. 8 and with the tongue 16 of thedevice under the V-belt 23 and pointing in the opposite direction fromthe direction in which the pulley is to be rotated, as indicated byarrow A in FIG. 8. When the device is thus applied the belt 23 will beheld between the flanges 11 and 12 of the device and will be guided ontothe pulley 25 as said pulley is rotated and the belt moved in thedirection indicated by the arrow A. Further movement of the belt 23 andpulley 25 after the belt is on the pulley will release the belt applyingdevice.

In taking a V-belt 23 off of a pulley 25 the device is applied to thepulley 25 as shown in FIG. 9 under the belt 23 and at the location wherethe belt 23 takes onto the pulley 25 and with the belt 23 deflectedsidewise far enough so that it extends alongside of one of the flanges11 or 12 but does not pass between said flanges 11 and 12. Then, as thepulley 25 is rotated and the belt 23 moved in the direction indicated byarrow A in FIG. 9 the belt 23 will be disengaged from the pulley 25without injury to the belt and with minimum stretching of said belt.

The incline of the edges of the flanges 11 and 12, due to these flangesbeing wider at their outer ends than they are at their inner ends helpsin preventing a belt 23 which is drawn around one of these flanges, asshown in FIGS. 8 and 9, from slipping off of said flanges 11 and 12.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclosepreferred embodiments of my invention but it will be understood thatthese disclosures are merely illustrative and that changes may be madewithin the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A device for applying V-belts to and removing V- belts from groovedpulleys comprising a relatively long &

material of high friction characteristics, said body having substantialthickness at one 'end and tapering to a narrow thickness at its otherend; and two opposed spaced apart belt-engaging flanges rigid with andextending outwardly in relatively divergent relation from the lateraledges of the thicker end portion of said body.

2. In a device for applying V-belts to and removing V-belts from groovedpulleys, a metal frame comprising a flat bottom part of substantiallength; two opposed spaced apart belt-engaging flanges rigid with andextending outwardly in relatively divergent relation from the edgeportions of said flat bottom part adjacent one end thereof; and alongitudinally tapered wedge shaped shield of tough pliable material ofhigh friction characteristics covering said flat bottom part and thebase portions of said belt-engaging flanges, said shield being thickerat the location of said belt-engaging flanges and extending asubstantial distance beyond the forward end of said flat bottom part andtapering to a narrow thickness at its forward end.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said belt-engagingflanges are wider at their outer ends and narrower at their inner endsproviding thereon inclined belt-engaging edges.

4. In a device for applying V-belts to and removing V-belts from groovedpulleys, a frame comprising a flat bottom part of substantial length;two opposed spaced apart belt-engaging flanges rigid with and extendingoutwardly in relatively divergent relation from the edge portions ofsaid bottom part adjacent one end thereof; two narrow divergent sidewalls extending outwardly in relatively divergent relation from the edgeportions of said bottom part, one end of each side wall being joined toan adjacent belt-engaging flange and each side wall taperingconvergently toward its other end; and a longitudinally tapered wedgeshaped shield of tough pliable material of high friction characteristicscovering said bottom and side members and the base portions of saidbeltengaging flanges, said shield being thicker at the location of saidbelt-engaging flanges and extending a substantial distance beyond theforward end of said flat bottom pal-1t and tapering to a narrowthickness at its forward en References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A DEVICE FOR APPLYING V-BELTS TO AND REMOVING VBELTS FROM GROOVEDPULLEYS COMPRISING A RELATIVELY LONG LONGITUDINALLY TAPERED WEDGE SHAPEDBODY OF TOUGH PLIABLE MATERIAL OF HIGH FRICTION CHARACTERISTICS, SAIDBODY HAVING SUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS AT ONE END AND TAPERING TO A NARROWTHICKNESS AT ITS OTHER END; AND TWO OPPOSED SPACED APART BELT-ENGAGINGFLANGES RIGID WITH AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY IN RELATIVELY DIVERGENTRELATION FROM THE LATERAL EDGES OF THE THICKER END PORTION OF SAID BODY.